


she may be Galatea (but he is no Pygmalion)

by FlibbertiGiblet



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Jon is a replicant, The Blade Runner AU nobody asked for, and Sansa is...you'll see
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2019-01-18 18:42:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12393894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlibbertiGiblet/pseuds/FlibbertiGiblet
Summary: The life of a Blade Runner is a lonely one. Officer JS3-4.8 merely seeks a little companionship where he can find it, even if it comes in a box.





	she may be Galatea (but he is no Pygmalion)

**Author's Note:**

> The Tyrell Corporation is featured in the original movie, which is a delicious and superficial little bridge between the two worlds, but really, my mind is wired these days to try and find parallels between any and all stories and ASOIAF, so it wasn't a huge leap to get to this AU.
> 
> No real spoilers in the fic, but you may want to avoid the Author's Notes at the end if you're especially particular.

She comes in a small box, sleek and unobtrusive. An unexpected subtlety, given the garishness of her fifty-foot presence in neon lights all over the city. He pours himself a drink and reflects upon the promise of her name, embossed in silver letters on the cover. He hesitates then – he does not know why – but finally he opens the box with as much care as he would give the extraction of the eyes of the fugitive replicants he hunts for a living.

It does not take him long to load her onto his home console. Even less time to bring her to life with a few taps of a finger. A dark-haired, clear-eyed beauty appears before him in the nude, smiling with infinite gentleness. He should not be startled, but he is, hand jerking towards his holster before he gets a hold of himself. She does not react even as he clenches and unclenches his fist, only looking at him with an expression of beatific calm on her smooth, lovely face.

“Hello.”

He releases a breath slowly. “Hello.”

“I am Joi,” she tells him, “though you may call me whatever you wish.” Her lips curve enticingly. “I aim to please.”

_Everything you want to hear._

“What do you wish to be called?”

She seems surprised by the question. “I may choose my name?”

He nods once, his dark eyes never leaving hers.

“I suppose – you might call me Sansa. If you like.” She sounds almost tentative, though perhaps he is only imagining it.

“Sansa,” he repeats, rolling the name over his tongue and his mind. It sounds fitting, as soft and sweet as he imagines her to be. It suits her. He tells her so, and her cheeks color prettily at his words.

He downs his drink with a gulp and stands up to refill it, thinks to pour her one, then dismisses the thought as being foolish. He is aware of how her eyes follow him around the small room, though he does not glance her way to confirm. When he settles back in his chair, he finally lifts his gaze to meet hers. She is beautiful – of that there is no doubt – but he finds he is uncomfortable with the features too familiar to him after countless nights spent wandering the streets of Los Angeles. Somehow he does not like the idea of sharing his Joi with the rest of the world.

She seems to interpret his thoughts correctly and tuts. “If we are to be...friends...you must learn to be comfortable with me," she scolds lightly. "Naturally, you may change my default settings into something more suitable for you.” She gestures towards the box that lay forgotten on the nearby table. “There is a device inside."

“Ah.”

She is quiet as he cycles through the menus. _Physical Appearance, Personality Attributes, Baseline Settings._ He pauses. _User Preferences._

He should not be uneasy about doing this. It was no different from what his unknown creator would have done with him. He knows this. And yet – to be given such control over another being, another _life…_

 _She is merely a program,_ he tells himself. _A string of code. A creature of ones and zeroes, less realized than I am. She exists merely to be a – my companion._

The thought makes him feel strangely lonely.

In the end, he decides to give her long red hair and blue eyes. Makes her tall, porcelain-skinned. Increases her intelligence, loyalty, empathy, tenacity – and free will.

He hovers over the options under User Preferences before selecting ‘None’ and setting the device aside.

He would give her what agency he could.

\- - - - -

She stands and stretches her arms gracefully over her head. His eyes watch her hungrily. She notices.

“Am I pretty?” she asks coquettishly. “Do I please you?”

“Yes.”

It is the truth.

\- - - - -

She flickers quickly through hairstyles, outfits, stopping occasionally to ask for his opinion with an air of girlish excitement.

He shrugs, rubs his beard in some embarrassment. Strength and speed and deductive skills he has in spades, but his makers had not programmed him to know how to flatter women, even holographic ones. It is an unnecessary trait for his model’s purposes. “You look good in whatever you wear,” he says at last.

She beams at him, and he is momentarily transfixed. She’s settled on a fitted peach dress that complements her lithe figure and the creaminess of her complexion. Her hair hangs in a long, loose braid that she pulls over one shoulder. His fingers twitch with a sudden longing to reach for her. He does not.

She herself eliminates the small distance between them, perches daintily on the arm of his chair. He tries not to notice how he can see the light from outside the window through her body.

“What do I call you?” 

“I am Officer JS3-4.8 of the LAPD.”

She tilts her head as she processes this. “Seems a bit long for regular use, no?" Her eyes twinkle _(or perhaps it’s just a trick of the light)._ "I could give you a name. It’s only fair we both have one.”

He lets out a rough chuckle. “Very well.”

“What about…Jon? Jon is a nice name, don’t you think?”

“It is as nice a name as any.”

Her face falls.

“I like it. I do,” he adds hurriedly, awkwardly. “Thank you, Sansa.”

“You’re very welcome.” She toys with the end of her braid, looks down at him in apparent contemplation. He suspects she is going through her database for conversation topics or some such; she is meant to learn his preferences on top of whatever information he had inputted in her settings, but it would take time for her to do so.

“Jon,” she begins, then stops. His heart gives a curious lurch as she raises a delicate hand to his face – almost touching it, but not quite.

“Jon,” she says again.

_(He likes the sound of her voice more than he wants to admit. Likes how she says the name that she chose for him.)_

Her face is luminous, her eyes big and ethereally blue. She runs her thumb over his lips, and he pretends he can feel the ghost of her touch.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jon.” 

He knows it is not real – _knows she is not real_ – but he lifts his own hand to clasp hers nonetheless.

_(There is nothing to clasp, of course, but he can **pretend**.)_

“The pleasure is all mine. Sansa.”

**Author's Note:**

>  **Nerdtalk:** We don't know if it's an option in the BR movieverse, but this is my headcanon, so I inserted the ability to customize the Joi program - partly influenced by Westworld, of course (but tbh, partly cause of The Sims too). I think Jon-the-replicant would have Many Thoughts about his place in the world, and he'd feel strongly about suddenly having the same godlike control over another creature with AI as his own creators - and to a certain extent, his masters (or Madam, more specifically) - have over him. One of the great questions raised by the BR 2049 movie is whether or not K's relationship with Joi is really love or merely a product of her programming. Jon fiddling with Sansa's baseline settings is his way of alleviating himself of some of the guilt he has over her very existence in his life. I suspect there's a lot I could do to continue in this AU even if I just keep it to scenes between Jon/K and Sansa/Joi because the potential interactions between the two would be so rich with the kind of unfulfilled longing we're used to getting from Jonsa.
> 
> Incidentally, I initially meant this to be a standalone vignette, but my mind couldn't help but try to continue building on the possibilities of this fic, to the point where I've basically cast all GoT characters in movieverse-compliant roles? Like, Ned is Deckard because of course Jon would want to believe he's his father, except his real "father" is Rhaegar aka ~~The Joker~~ Niander Wallace?
> 
> (Ooh, now I want to write that...)


End file.
